Reuters – Hedge funds Paulson & Co. Inc. and Centaurus Capital said on Thursday they were seeking support from other Ahold shareholders in a bid to increase the Dutch retailer’s value as itrestructures it business.
“We are also therefore talking to other significant investors to discuss how we can support management in their efforts to enhance shareholder value and build a strong and competitive business,” Randel Freeman, Centaurus managing director, said in a statement.
The funds together hold a 6.4 percent stake of Ahold and want the company to sell all its U.S. businesses to focus on its more profitable European operations, saying this would boost its market value to around 14 billion euros ($18.47 billion) from 12 billion now.
Shares in Ahold, the world’s fourth-biggest food retail and foodservice group by sales, were trading 0.4 percent lower at 7.69 euros at 1316 GMT, underperforming a 0.4 percent rise in the DJ Stoxx retail index <.SXRP>.
